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Article
Publication date: 9 December 2020

Alistair M. Brown

Using the theory of sensibility and McClelland et al.’s (2013) metaphorical analysis, this study aims to analyse the accounting metaphors and meta-metaphor of The Hollow Men, a…

Abstract

Purpose

Using the theory of sensibility and McClelland et al.’s (2013) metaphorical analysis, this study aims to analyse the accounting metaphors and meta-metaphor of The Hollow Men, a poem written by T. S. Eliot.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis uses McClelland et al.’s (2013) five-step procedure to ascertain the poem’s metaphor use.

Findings

The Hollow Men depicts accountants as ritualistic and accounting voices as quiet and meaningless while its meta-metaphor conveys accounting as rites and shadows.

Research limitations/implications

Although The Hollow Men’s use of Form 4 metaphors, where neither figurative nor literal source term is named, places an onus on the reader to infer meaning from accounting metaphor use, the analysis provides readers with a valuable structure for evincing accounting metaphors that present pervasive accounting issues facing the modern world.

Practical implications

Accountants, according to The Hollow Men, are hollow, devotees to plunderers and property and rain dancers. The Hollow Men situates the quest for accounting as a ritual for order and the preservation of the status quo.

Social implications

The Hollow Men’s mages of accounting immersion in rites and shadows accord with the conceptual metaphors of accounting as magic and accounting as history.

Originality/value

The originality of this study rests in its introduction to McClelland et al.’s (2013) metaphorical analysis of accounting research.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2002

ALISTAIR M. BROWN and GREG TOWER

Three reporting models — Traditional, Western‐narrow and Western‐broad — are scrutinised to delineate the basis of accounting practices for the Pacific Island Countries' (PIC…

Abstract

Three reporting models — Traditional, Western‐narrow and Western‐broad — are scrutinised to delineate the basis of accounting practices for the Pacific Island Countries' (PIC) entities for the years ending 1997–1999. Evidence is obtained about the filing of reports; timeliness of reports; and disclosure patterns. Patterns are measured via examination of twenty Aggregated Accounting Disclosures (AAD) items and sub‐indices. A significant number of entities completely fail to generate annual reports, or are several years behind the reporting cycle or are unwilling to disseminate their reports. The reporting patterns for PIC entities showed an overall AAD disclosure trend of 52% with specific patterns being 76% of Core Statement Accounting (CSA), 42% Financial Related Accounting (FRA) and 40% Non‐financial Related Accounting (NRA) over the three years. The lack of current annual reports and timely reports (at least 50%) fits much more with the Traditional model than with either Western model.

Details

Pacific Accounting Review, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0114-0582

Article
Publication date: 19 July 2013

Alistair M. Brown

This paper seeks to analyse the audit findings, by the Auditor General's Office of the Solomon Islands, of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Solomon Islands' main…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to analyse the audit findings, by the Auditor General's Office of the Solomon Islands, of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Solomon Islands' main health and medical agency that aims to coordinate the country's health and medical services.

Design/methodology/approach

Using electronic data from annual reports, audit findings on the Solomon Islands' Ministry of Health and Medical Services are textually analysed over a six year period (2006‐2011) to detect the milieu of reporting by Solomon Islands' main health agency.

Findings

Over a six year period, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services consistently found it difficult to generate accurate and timely annual reports as mandated by legislation. Critical governance issues of internal control, asset management, stock control and bank reconciliations are given short shrift by the Ministry.

Research limitations/implications

The findings presented here are derived exclusively from textual analysis rather than through the medium of open‐ended questionnaires and mixed methodological techniques. However, the paper used authoritative local texts and explanations to overcome these limitations.

Practical implications

In low‐income countries, audit findings need to be fully integrated in the governance of the national health and medical services. The findings presented here provide practical guidance for those considering developing or improving health and medical services in low‐income countries.

Originality/value

Local audit findings have the major potential for improving health and medical services in low‐income countries within existing resource constraints. The audit findings presented here have relevance to the entirety of health and medical systems in low‐income countries.

Details

Clinical Governance: An International Journal, vol. 18 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7274

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 July 2012

Rusmin Rusmin and Alistair M. Brown

Based on semi‐structured interviews with current senior officers of the Indonesian Police Force, Indonesian Attorney General's Office and the Indonesian Financial Transaction…

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Abstract

Purpose

Based on semi‐structured interviews with current senior officers of the Indonesian Police Force, Indonesian Attorney General's Office and the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Pusat Pelaporan dan Analisis Transaksi Keuangan), the purpose of this paper is to consider the regulator context and governance of some key issues in Indonesia's anti‐money laundering (AML) regime: the progress of “know your customer” implementations and the crackdown on foreign bribery.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviewing respondents from key Indonesian agencies involved in the AML regime, the authors used semi‐structured interviews to develop a narrative analysis of the research questions.

Findings

The results of the narrative analysis suggest all three agencies are satisfied with the effectiveness of “know your customer” regulations, particularly in their capacity to heighten awareness. All respondents, however, were a little more circumspect on the foreign bribery crackdown.

Practical implications

The paper shows that at best, mutual legal assistance provided help for transaction reports and analysis. At worst, it appears foreign bribery issues are an intractable problem. It is concluded that policy tools need to be contextualised within Indonesia's socio‐economic realities rather than wholly struck from western fields.

Originality/value

Fresh “insider” insights were gleaned about the current state of play regarding “know your customer” principles and the clampdown on foreign bribery. This is of value to many parties involved in the advancement of AML, both within and outside Indonesia.

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2008

Rusmin Rusmin and Alistair M. Brown

The purpose of this paper is to gather Indonesian stakeholders' viewpoints of issues arising from Indonesia's recent anti‐money laundering (AML) legislation.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to gather Indonesian stakeholders' viewpoints of issues arising from Indonesia's recent anti‐money laundering (AML) legislation.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi‐structured interviews are conducted to elicit viewpoints about issues raised by Law No. 15 of 2002 on Money Laundering Crimes (as amended by Law No. 25 of 2003).

Findings

Although there are teething problems with the application of Indonesian AML legislation, many respondents consider the Act as essential in driving out Indonesia's money laundering. The implications for Pusat Pelaporan dan Analisis Transaksi Keuangan (PPATK) is that by encouraging more training and providing more feedback on suspicious reporting transactions, many Indonesian organizations may be encouraged to join PPATK in stamping out AML practices.

Originality/value

The report is piquant given Indonesia's recent record on corruption and cronyism, external pressure on Indonesia to stamp out money laundering practices, and the apparent success of the PPATK on securing co‐chair of the Asia‐Pacific Group in AML. By considering Indonesian stakeholder viewpoints of Indonesian legislation, authorities are better able to gauge how limited resources may be spent to fulfill the ambit of that legislation.

Details

Journal of Money Laundering Control, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-5201

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2011

Qinggang Wang, Ross Taplin and Alistair M. Brown

Building upon McLeod and Wainwright's paradigm for rigorous scientific assessment of study abroad programs, this paper aims to use social learning theory to assess mainland…

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Abstract

Purpose

Building upon McLeod and Wainwright's paradigm for rigorous scientific assessment of study abroad programs, this paper aims to use social learning theory to assess mainland Chinese students' satisfaction of the Chinese Curtin Student Accounting Academic Programme.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of mainland Chinese students enrolled in Curtin units were invited to complete a short survey on their perspectives of the study abroad programme.

Findings

The author's results suggest that preparation for study in Australia, in addition to differences between Australia and China concerning culture and technical teaching, is essential for a mainland Chinese student to flourish in the programme.

Research limitations/implications

McLeod and Wainwright's social learning theory proposes that behaviour is predicted by the expectancy that if a person behaves in a certain way that person will be rewarded by the extent that the person values the reward. The expectancy which is linked to a local of control is reflected in the mainland Chinese students' preparation of studies in China.

Social implications

Mainland Chinese students who feel they are better prepared for study in Australia showed higher satisfaction. Preparation is, therefore, an important factor in getting satisfaction out of the study abroad programme.

Originality/value

The paper offers some helpful practical implications for managers and administrators wanting to continue the study abroad programmes. There is a clear need to convey to prospective students the need for sound preparation when students consider taking on a study abroad programme.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2007

Mitch Van der Zahn, Mikhail I. Makarenko, Greg Tower, Alexander N. Kostyuk, Dulacha Barako, Yulia Chervoniaschaya, Alistair M. Brown and Helen Kostyuk

This paper seeks to provide a textual analysis of the anti money laundering practices of the central banks of Australia (Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)) and Ukraine (National…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to provide a textual analysis of the anti money laundering practices of the central banks of Australia (Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)) and Ukraine (National Bank of Ukraine (NBU)).

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is performed two ways by both calculating a disclosure index and through use of textual analysis.

Findings

The results show very low levels of anti money laundering disclosures by both NBU and RBA with NBU usually showing more. Textual analysis reveals that the NBU is prepared to internalise its discussion on anti‐money laundering discussing wide‐ranging topics. There appears to be a concerted communication effort by NBU to tackle the issues of money laundering head‐on. Textual analysis of the RBA's four annual reports show a clipped discourse on anti‐money laundering, treating it as if it were a distant concern. Over the four year period, there is little acknowledgement in the way of RBA textual discourse that Australia is a jurisdiction of primary concern.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is that, it emphasizes that, if the globalised activity of money laundering is to be crushed further energies are needed to woo central banks from varied backgrounds into exerting their considerable resources toward anti‐money laundering enforcement.

Details

Journal of Money Laundering Control, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-5201

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2021

Humphrey Boogaerdt and Alistair Brown

The purpose of this study is to consider how a local government authority may present a tree asset register of street trees for the decision-making of the authority's stakeholders.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to consider how a local government authority may present a tree asset register of street trees for the decision-making of the authority's stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the tenets of population density theory, urban form theory and social stratification theory, the approach of the study is to develop a tree asset register in a local government authority's setting that could be modelled using many different attributes to derive important information for decision-making purposes.

Findings

Tree asset registers represent a critical tool in managing street trees across local government authorities.

Research limitations/implications

Although the efficacy of an asset tree register may be curtailed by lack of internal audit or yearly updates, the practical consequence of an asset tree register is that local administrators may use the register to gather summarised, organised and parsimonious measures of a wide range of environmental, historical, cultural, aesthetic and scientific values of street trees.

Practical implications

Tree asset registers affords ratepayers, developers, tree managers and valuers a technology to plan, coordinate and manage street trees to support ecosystem services.

Social implications

Asset tree registers offer planners a means to bring about sustainable change management.

Originality/value

The originality of the study rests in introducing tree registers as a means to meet diverse strategies for street tree management by interested stakeholders.

Details

Property Management, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2017

Fitra Roman Cahaya, Stacey Porter, Greg Tower and Alistair Brown

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors explaining voluntary occupational health and safety disclosures (OHSDs).

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors explaining voluntary occupational health and safety disclosures (OHSDs).

Design/methodology/approach

Annual report disclosures of 223 Indonesia Stock Exchange listed companies for the year ending 2007 are analyzed. The OHSD components of the 2006 Global Reporting Initiative guidelines are used as the disclosure index checklist.

Findings

The results show that approximately 30 percent of Indonesian listed companies provide OHSD. The most disclosed item is health and safety programs. Logistical regression analysis reveals that industry type and international operations significantly influence the propensity to provide OHSD. These findings suggest that coercive isomorphism partially explains OHSD practices in Indonesia.

Research limitations/implications

The main implications of the findings are that Indonesian listed companies generally have poor health and safety information disclosure sets and largely ignore the potential roles of their workers in any health and safety committees.

Originality/value

This paper provides insights into the disclosure practices of occupational health and safety issues, a vital subset of corporate social responsibility disclosure which is still under-researched. The paper also empirically investigates the key determinants of OHSD, an empirical test which is largely ignored in past OHSD-related studies.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2018

Humphrey Boogaerdt and Alistair Brown

The purpose of this paper is to consider the monetary valuation implications arising from local government tree trimming, by calculating the loss of local government authority’…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider the monetary valuation implications arising from local government tree trimming, by calculating the loss of local government authority’ monetary tree value arising from trimming trees under power lines.

Design/methodology/approach

A city council model of estimation of the monetary value of city trees in a sample of three streets in a suburb of the Perth Metropolitan Area in Western Australia is applied to ascertain the loss of monetary value to the local government authority arising from tree trimming.

Findings

Using a sample of 274 city trees, the results of the study show that 156 city trees did not get trimmed thus incurring no monetary loss. However, the average loss of monetary value from 118 city trees that were trimmed was AU$2,816 per tree, suggesting a substantial loss of value to the council.

Research limitations/implications

The use of monetary tree valuation should be treated with caution as there is a focus on monetary calculations rather than non-monetary evaluations of trees. Further, the analysis does not take into account increases in value of city trees resulting from their growth.

Practical implications

In trimming trees, monetary value and canopy cover of trees may be reduced. In terms of property management, it may be helpful for the city council to take into account loss of city tree value from tree trimming when considering a cost-benefit analysis of the above ground/underground trade-off of power line installation.

Social implications

With increasing populations and demand on services, local government authorities may use monetary valuation techniques of trees to provide an accountability to ratepayers.

Originality/value

The results highlight the value loss of trimming a tree. The study’s originality rests in providing local government authority a valuation.

Details

Property Management, vol. 37 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

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